Where does all the excitement about probiotics come from?
Would you believe it originated more than a century ago in 1907?
Back then, no one had any knowledge of the term “probiotics.”
But Russian microbiologist Elie Metchnikoff found Bulgarians had unusually good health and longevity at the time. And they seemed to consume large amounts of fermented dairy products.
So, he was the first to make the connection.
Thanks to Elie, humanity was put on a path to discovering probiotics – the millions of bacteria that live in your intestines which do good things for your health.
What are those “good things” anyway? Truthfully, probiotics do more to improve your health than can be covered in a single blog post…or even many blog posts.
So here’s a quick overview of some of the most useful things probiotics do for you:
- Improve Your Digestive Health
This is quite a broad term. But, it’s a fair one to use because probiotics do a lot to improve your digestive health. They reduce the chance of you getting diarrhea and make it go away faster when you do get it.
If you have IBS, which is quite difficult to treat, probiotics help with that too. Anything that happens to your digestive system’s health can be improved with probiotics. - Fight Off UTI’s
Urinary tract infections happen on a regular basis. Women are more likely to suffer from them. And they come back somewhere around 30-40% of the time following treatment.
Probiotics prevent UTI-causing bacteria from getting into your urinary tract. Maybe they don’t do so to perfection. But, probiotics certainly reduce your chances of getting a UTI. - Probiotics Improve Some Mental Health Conditions
What if you had a family member with a serious mental health disorder, and the doctor told you to make sure they eat yogurt regularly?
You’d say that doctor’s crazy, right?
Well, it turns out this idea isn’t so insane after all. Studies continue to find increasing evidence that gut health has a connection with your mood and mental health.
For example, the bacterial strains bifidobacterium and lactobacillus can reduce anxiety, depression, autism, OCD, and even your memory.
Sounds almost out-of-this world at first, but it’s scientifically proven true. - Lower Your Bad (LDL) Cholesterol and Improve Your Heart’s Health
The top killer of men and women in the United States is cardiovascular disease. A review of 5 separate studies found eating probiotic yogurt for 2-8 weeks reduced total cholesterol 4% and LDL cholesterol 5%.
Probiotics also reduce your blood pressure, but only if you eat them consistently for 8 weeks and consume 10 million colony-forming units per day.
You Only Do Yourself Favors with Probiotics
Probiotics clearly offer a number of health benefits. Many, we’re just beginning to understand.
Who knows? More might even exist.
And since probiotics don’t have any known risks, why not add as many as you can to your diet?
You can’t find too many products these days with this much benefit and absolutely no catch.